A key element of 5G is the emergence of Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC), which will be required to fulfil many industrial use cases. Many industrial players have clearly stated that they would like to deploy their own private 5G networks in order to secure URLLC capabilities and some regulators are taking steps to reserve spectrum for these purposes. Meanwhile, MNOs, backed by the GSMA cry foul.

October's Telco Data Analytics & AI Europe, held in London, was one of the telecoms industry's most important opportunities to be at the fore-front of data and AI developments. Our MD, Guy Redmill, was there and we had the pleasure of chairing sessions on Day 2 of the event, leading the Dragon's Den and awarding prizes.

According to new research from Juniper Research, the automotive sector will become the most lucrative IoT platform by 2021, accounting for $63 billion in transactions that year (or 55 per cent of the overall market), with the biggest growth coming from in-vehicle payments. In comparison, it forecasts that the market for connected home devices, including smart speakers and TVs, will reach just over $50 billion by 2021.